


I Didn't Catch Your Name

by Saraiguma



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 02:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5317433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saraiguma/pseuds/Saraiguma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max is rescued by the mysterious girl from the bathroom, but she looks strangely familiar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Didn't Catch Your Name

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a text post by rememberwhenyoutried

 

“Nobody tells me what to do.” Nathan turned away from the now-prone Warren and wrapped his hand around Max’s throat. “Not my parents, not the Principal, or that whore in the bathroom.”

 

Max felt panic surging. “Stop that, right now!” She clawed at Nathan’s face hard enough for him to drop her, though his retaliatory shove sent her to the ground. She heard the sound of squealing tires and turned around in time to see a rustbucket of a truck stop inches from her head. Max stood up, bracing herself on the hood, and saw the girl from the bathroom driving it.

 

“No way.” Nathan rubbed the raw red scratches on his face. “You again?”

 

Before Nathan could take more than a step he was sent sprawling by a flying tackle. “Go, go! I got this.” Max could do little more than watch her friend punch the bully in the face until the door to the truck swung towards her.

 

“Get in! Hurry up!” Max needed little more than an invitation from the bluenette and hopped in the truck. Just as she cleared the running boards she heard a deep thud from behind her.

 

“Get your punk asses out of there now!” Max turned fearfully to watch Nathan beating on the door of the truck. “Don’t even try to run! Nobody messes with me!”

 

Max only realized they were moving away when she noticed Nathan shrinking as his voice got softer. She cupped her face in her hands and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. After several minutes of trying to collect herself she was interrupted by a voice from next to her.

 

“So...” Max was mildly disconcerted by how little attention the bluenette was paying to the road. “Why was Nathan Prescott after you? As if he needed a reason.” She trailed off into grumbles.

 

“I…” Max realized that telling the truth would implicate her, but thought that since the other girl was part of it, she deserved to know. “...sorta saw him threaten you with a gun in the bathroom and told the principal?”

 

The way the other girl rolled her eyes at this seemed almost familiar to Max. “Not very smart, the Prescott’s own that school.” Max could almost hear the gears turning in the bluenette’s head as they approached a stop sign. “Wait, does that mean _you_ pulled that fire alarm?” As soon as Max nodded the other girl had crossed the truck to pull her into a rib-creaking hug. “You hella saved my life! I have to thank you for that.”

 

“Really, it was nothing.” Max managed to croak out, failing to extricate herself from the odd girl’s grasp.

 

“It was definitely not nothing.” The bluenette slid back over to the wheel and pulled away from the stop sign. “And I don’t even know your name!”

 

She took it as an invitation. “Maxine, er, Max.” She stared expectantly at the other girl for a few seconds. “And yours is…?”

 

“Oh, sorry, Chloe.” Chloe extended her hand across to Max, an odd gesture after the vigorous embrace, but Max returned it nonetheless.

 

“So, Chloe.” Max’s pensiveness fell away quickly in the face of Chloe’s genuine exuberance. “How come I’ve never seen you around school? You’re pretty noticeable.” Fighting the urge to finger the other girl’s hair, Max settled for gesturing at it.

 

“Because, smartass.” Chloe shot a playful grin at her. “I got kicked out, though I could ask the same question of you. I have enough friends at Blackwell to at least recognize all the students.”

 

“Oh.” Max blushed, caught off guard by the question. “I don’t really have a ton of friends and any free time I might have had in the first few weeks was spent setting up my IEP.”

 

Chloe seemed to chew over the words for a moment. “Oh, are you, um, autistic?” She rushed to append another sentence onto the first. “Not to assume anything, it’s just that I used to have an autistic friend and you remind a lot of him.”

 

“What happened to him?” Max glanced at Chloe.

 

“He moved to Seattle and never talked to me again.” Max felt that strange familiarity again, though it was a lot easier to explain this time. “But enough about that, here we are at Casa de Price _plus stepdouche_.” The last two words were growled out.

 

Before Max could explain that she’d been here before Chloe’s hand wrapped around hers and pulled her past the steering wheel and into the house. Barring a few small changes the house was identical to the last time she’d seen it, she felt tears welling up in her eyes as a familiar face turned the corner from the kitchen. “Chloe I hope you were out looking for a job, because-” She stopped, having noticed the visitor. “Oh, hello. Chloe you should have told me you’d be having _company_ over.”

 

Hoping to head off any more misunderstandings, Max said the first thing that came to mind. “Hi Joyce, it’s nice to see you again. You look the same.” Her smile waned as the two Price women stared at her incredulously.

 

Joyce was the first to break the silence after scrutinizing her for what seemed like an eternity. “Max Caulfield?” Max shrugged and nodded and was instantly swept up in her second bone-breaking hug of the day. “It’s so good to see you again after all this time! And look at you, a lovely young woman. How _are_ you doing Max?”

 

As Max opened her mouth to respond she heard a stunned voice from behind her. “Max? _Max?_ You’re.” Max managed to turn her head enough to see Chloe take a deep breath. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

 

“I did though?” Max was torn between defusing and stoking Chloe’s ire

 

Chloe raised her index finger as though to lecture the younger girl, then dropped her hand back to her side. “You know what I mean Max Caulfield. I can’t believe you’re a girl now too, and you didn’t even change your name!”

 

“Pfft, Maxine is _completely_ different than Maximilian. Not that you’re one to talk _Chloe_ , you only changed one letter!”

 

“Oh come here.” Chloe laughed as she drew Max into a hug that was much gentler than her last two. “This explains why you didn’t talk to me for five years at least, but you’re still not forgiven.”

 

“I’m sorry.” Max’s words were muffled by Chloe’s sternum. “Would breakfast at the Two Whales make it up to you?”

 

“Hmm.” Chloe made exaggerated sounds of consideration as she ground her chin into Max’s forehead. “It’s a deal. But only if you get me waffles _and_ an omelette.”

 

“You drive a hard bargain Chloe Price, but it’s a deal.” Max held the hug, enjoying it thoroughly, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

 

“Max you _have_ to stay for dinner tonight, I insist.” Max turned her head to see Joyce smiling down at both of them. “And if you two swing by the Two Whales tomorrow I’ll treat you both.”

 

“Mom that was supposed to be Max’s punishment!” Chloe’s pout was no more believable than her deliberation. “You can’t just take it from her!”

 

“I’m sure you’ll think of something else Chloe, now you two run upstairs while I get dinner started.” Had Max not known Joyce as well as she did she would have called her smile impish. “I’ll call you both down in about an hour, okay?”

 

“Yeah come on Max, at least there’s one part of the house that you won’t recognize.” Chloe wrapped her hand around Max’s wrist again but found herself being pulled up the stairs, rather than the other way around.

 

Max didn’t know what she’d expected from Chloe’s room, but it wasn’t what she got as she opened the door. To call the room a mess would be a compliment, the walls were covered in graffiti, band posters, and half naked women. Overflowing ashtrays and empties were strewn about the room, mixed into discarded magazines and dirty clothes. It was different but it was Chloe, at least the Chloe standing behind her now, the real Chloe.

 

“So what do you think, a real pigsty huh?” Max could feel Chloe’s smirk on the back of her head.

 

“I think it looks wonderful Chloe, very _you_.” Max wandered into the room, letting Chloe trail behind her. “It’s cool, and we can chill out here.”

 

“Not exactly my chill-out zone, my step-führer makes sure of that.” Chloe leapt towards her bed, spinning in mid-air. “Why don’t you put on some music?”

 

Max saw a CD case sitting on top of Chloe’s ancient stereo and, with a nod from the bluenette, inserted it into the disc drive. A driving bass line emanated from the speakers and Max felt a pair of arms around her. “Come on Max, let’s dance! Shake that boney white ass!”

 

Before she knew it Max was standing on Chloe’s bed, gyrating her hips in rough tune to the music and feeling Chloe occasionally grind into her. Each time Chloe’s hip or hand brushed against her Max felt more emboldened and as the song progressed she found their bodies were barely separating anymore.

 

As the song faded out she found herself collapsing, and dragging Chloe down on top of her. Max’s giggles subsided first, though Chloe’s didn’t last much longer. Soon Chloe was staring at Max staring at Chloe’s lips, remembering the first kiss they had shared all those years ago and wondering if her lips were still as soft as she remembered. She had only just resolved to find out, head moving forward, when she heard the door open.

 

“Dinner’ll be ready in a few kids.” Chloe and Max both turned their heads towards the door, and while Chloe seemed unabashed Max was mortified. “You two wash up and come downstairs.” Max noticed that same impish smile as Joyce turned and closed the door behind her.

  


 


End file.
